Rapid growth in business is often called “a good problem to have,” but it can also overwhelm a business that is not fully ready for the substantial impact of taking on new customers and adding services.

Training employees in new business software can have a similar impact on rapidly growing businesses. Employees as well as managers and ownership can feel overwhelmed at the prospect of learning and successfully implementing new business software, no matter how promising the reward is for making the change.

And even when the initial onboarding process is complete, ongoing training to fully maximize all the software’s business management tools is a necessity.

Software Training Essentials

Consistent and ongoing employee training is essential for maximizing productivity and ensuring efficient utilization of the software. Here are some steps for successful business software training:

Assess Training Needs – Evaluate the specific requirements of your organization and identify the software that requires training. Determine the desired outcomes and performance goals for the training program.

Set Clear Objectives – Clearly define the learning objectives you want to achieve through the training. These objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART goals).

Design Training Materials – Develop comprehensive training materials that cater to different learning styles and in different formats. Include user manuals, step-by-step guides, video tutorials, interactive presentations, and any other resources that facilitate learning.

Create a Training Schedule – Plan the training sessions, considering the availability and schedules of the employees. Consider whether to conduct the training in-person, virtually, or through a combination of both, depending on the software and logistical constraints.

Tailor Training to Audience – Adapt the training content and delivery methods to suit the needs and skill levels of the employees. Consider conducting pre-training assessments to gauge their existing knowledge and customize the training accordingly. Make sure the training also addresses the tasks employees will be asked to perform with the new software.

Create Cross Training Opportunities – To build your ‘bench strength’ on using the software, create cross training opportunities for employees to ensure that someone can step in and effectively perform needed task in the event of an employee leaving, extended absences, vacations, etc.

Engage with Hands-On Exercises – Provide ample opportunities for employees to practice using the software through hands-on exercises and simulations. Encourage them to experiment and explore various features of the software.

Foster Interactive Learning – Incorporate interactive elements such as group discussions, role-playing, case studies, and real-life scenarios to enhance engagement and knowledge retention. Encourage questions and create a supportive environment for learning.

Tap into Training Support Resources – Your software partner should offer ongoing support resources to help you with the onboarding process. They should also offer ongoing support resources (i.e., help desks, user forums/conferences, etc.) to address any questions or challenges that arise after the training sessions. Make these resources readily available to employees responsible for using the software daily.

Monitor Progress and Provide Feedback – Regularly assess the progress of the employees during and after the training. Offer constructive feedback to individuals or the group as a whole and provide guidance on areas that need improvement.

Reinforce Learning Through Follow-Up – Schedule follow-up sessions or refresher courses to reinforce the learning and ensure that employees retain and apply their newly acquired skills. Offer opportunities for employees to provide feedback on the training and suggest any improvements.

Evaluate Training Effectiveness – Measure the effectiveness of the training program by collecting feedback from participants, conducting post-training assessments, and assessing the impact on performance and productivity. Use this evaluation to refine future training initiatives.

Successful business software training requires a well-planned approach, ongoing support, and continuous evaluation to ensure that employees are equipped with the skills needed to effectively use the software and contribute to the success of the organization.

The BOSS® Difference

BOSS Software’s in-depth knowledge of business software and the needs of professional landscape and snow removal contractors makes it the number one choice for businesses searching for a complete software solution. Call 866/596-5971 or request a free consultation today.

Finding Money in Plain Sight: How BOSS Software Automates the Invoicing Process

Rapid growth in business is often called “a good problem to have,” but it can also devastate a business that is not fully ready for the substantial impact of taking on new customers and adding services.

Diamond Landscapes, a full-service maintenance and design firm with offices in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, found itself at an inflection point with its own growth, says Andrew Cropper, general manager of operations and sales.

“We were growing rapidly and needed the ability to track contracts and proposals, as well as analyze outcomes more efficiently,” says Cropper. “Our software, which involved heavy use of Excel spreadsheets, was not getting the job done. We needed a much higher level of detail.”

In 2021, Diamond invested in BOSS Software to help deliver the data and analytical horsepower it needed to support its growth and improve decision making.

The installation of BOSS started with the maintenance division. Cropper revamped the company’s catalog of materials used, reducing the number of items from 8,500 to 800. Compliance with ticket allocation reached 80 percent in the first year and has continued to improve as management and employees have become familiar with the software and work to take full advantage of its features.

Nailing Down Contracts

In the field, BOSS provides a layer of accountability via the job inspection process that is powered by BOSS Mobile.

“Account managers in the field are equipped with iPads, and field supervisors inspect properties to ensure the work is being done properly and according to contract. That information is recorded in the software on the iPad,” says Cropper. “There is an audit for each service, and at the end BOSS produces a property score. If an area is missed, a crew leader and account manager are tagged in the notes section on what needs to be corrected, the level of urgency, and other information as needed.”

With more accurate, updated information gleaned in real-time from the field, Cropper and Diamond can enjoy what has been the most impactful benefit of using BOSS Software – nailing the contract.

“When I came on board at Diamond, the biggest issue that I could see was that our pricing on contracts was inaccurate,” says Cropper. “We were allocating materials improperly or not at all and leaving money on the table. We weren’t charging what we should. With BOSS, we have good data in the system and good job costing. We can assess and price jobs properly from the start and accurately charge for materials and labor.”

Better Data = Better Performance

Having more reliable data puts predictive planning power in Cropper’s hands. For instance, he can calculate turf square footage vs. hours mowed to determine how long a job takes, allowing refinement of production rates.

“With all numbers in place it helps in our forecasting in terms of labor, materials –really in all areas,” says Cropper. “We can filter by account manager, service provided, and much more. It has great reporting capabilities that can help us spot labor needs, where labor time is off, where help is needed, and shift labor and equipment. It can also help with purchasing efforts – we do financial audits, so we know labor rates vs. costs.”

Another big BOSS impact is converting legacy contracts in the maintenance division.

“With existing clients up for renewal, we experienced a year over year increase of $800,000 from legacy contracts from 2021 to 2022, and so far, this year we’ve seen an increase of $300,000 over last year,” says Cropper.

One key capability drove the increase:  the ability to track how long it takes crews to execute specific maintenance tasks.

“This will get better and better going forward,” says Cropper. “We now know our allocations, and everyone is on the same page.”

Taming the Snow Business

Mother Nature will always find a way to wreak havoc on any snow management plan, but the best companies find ways to control what they can. Diamond embraced the BOSS Snow module which slashed billing time and gave the entire snow team better tools to keep work moving and cash flowing.

“We were using massive spreadsheets to track routing and salt usage which was not efficient and could take up to three weeks to bill,” says Cropper. “After the first snow event we got the work into a billable state in a fraction of the time as the previous system. After the second snow event it was less than a day. This year we were able to get billing done in 30 minutes.”

Diamond invoices snow three ways depending on the service options – seasonal, time and material, or per occurrence.

“With BOSS, we are now able to issue contracts or work orders with confidence,” says Cropper.

Another cool feature of BOSS Snow gives plow operators and supervisors the ability to add photos and notes from the work site, which proves highly informative and useful. “It’s a great tool to double check work quality,” he says. “We can share with customers photos for proof of service along with time punches. It has been a big game changer for us, reducing multiple days of work to a few hours.”

Internally, Diamond managers are still learning but the comfort level with the use of BOSS Software tools continues to increase. Crew members have embraced capabilities such as built in GPS for customer addresses, use of job notes and photo capabilities, and the enhanced communication tools that provide more efficiency. “Crews know what they need for the jobs, and they are not running back and forth to the office for materials,” says Cropper.

And the best part is that there is still a mountain of potential to generate even more revenue and improved efficiency with BOSS tools and systems across the entire business. As improved data is collected and populates the software, everything from P&L forecasting to targeting high margin customers to managing costs and spending on long-term construction projects becomes more streamlined and accurate.

“Looking ahead, we want to drill down more on data,” says Cropper. “All jobs should have notes added to them and we can also add property maps, plow maps, planting maps, and more. It will be a big undertaking, but we want to streamline communication and extract as much benefit from the software as we can.”

The BOSS® Difference

BOSS Software’s in-depth knowledge of business software and the needs of professional landscape and snow removal contractors makes it the number one choice for businesses searching for a complete software solution. Call 866/596-5971 or request a free consultation today.

Business Revenue Doubles With Seamless Software Execution

This winter has been a season of opportunity for Curbside Landscape and Irrigation, a year-round landscape maintenance company in suburban Minneapolis. As Mother Nature churned up the snow machine at a record pace, including sequential weather events that dumped nearly the entire season’s average snowfall in just seven weeks, the Curbside team was more than up for the challenge.
Difficulties that so often vex snow and ice removal efforts – logistics, crew communication, work tracking, reconciling invoices, and timely billing – have been seamlessly executed with the use of BOSS Software.

Curbside started using BOSS back in 2016 to improve every aspect of the business operation, says Tyler Johnson, business coordinator at Curbside.

“We were able to get buy-in from employees during the first year, and we’ve seen revenue go up significantly since we started using BOSS,” Johnson notes. “We more than doubled revenue from $9 million to $20 million, and now employ 100 individuals including field staff and administration.” That revenue total includes $7 million in snow management alone.

Mobile App Connects Crews

One of the keys for Curbside’s success in its growing snow and ice removal division is keeping the execution plan relatively simple and flexible, while fully employing BOSS’ powerful logistics and record-keeping abilities to manage the chaos in real-time. The software’s mobile app can create a ticket for each snow event, and all notes on the property and work completed are available for the foremen and crews to view.

“For example, supervisors can share detail on what areas of a property need additional clean up or have special requirements,” says Johnson. “Access to updated information is always available – no one is wasting time waiting for instructions or information.”

The app also provides access to property maps and includes a texting feature to communicate with the foremen and crews, in particular the salt spreader drivers.

“When we need to communicate with crews on changing weather conditions, like when sleet changes to snow, or when there is an equipment breakdown and we need to move crews and equipment around to cover an area, we don’t have time to call multiple trucks to respond. This is where the software’s texting capability is critical,” says Johnson.

Faster Invoicing, Better Cash Flow

BOSS’ ticket system collects all the work that occurs during the snow event on a given property, including field notes from foremen and crews who work overnight. When Johnson arrives for work in the morning, he gets a complete and timely picture of what occurred in the field over the past 24 hours.
Having all the information accurate and centralized has been a game changer for Curbside. Internally, the field information fuels the company bonus program, which helps ensure employee buy-in to the software system.

“We developed a culture where people want to make good money through the company’s bonus programs,” says Johnson. “And if we don’t have accurate data to prepare proposals or invoice clients with, the bonuses won’t be as good. Long-term employees know the value of having accurate info and why it’s important, and this gets passed along to new hires.”

Externally, having accurate, timely data means the speed to invoice is exponentially faster.

“This winter we billed more snow work in two months than we did all of last year,” says Johnson. “Before BOSS it was taking three weeks to invoice. Today, we will have an invoice out in 48 to 72 hours.”

In addition to streamlining the cash flow coming in, it also speeds reconciling with subcontractors.

“If we aren’t able to pay them on a timely basis, we may lose them or need a serious line of credit to manage around it,” says Johnson. “Snow management demands good cash flow.”

Curbside has maximized the benefits of using BOSS Software by going all in and extracting as much value as it can. For example, the mowing department has improved its proposals using information generated by the BOSS Software to include actual costs to perform work. The division was profitable for the first time in 2022 having its best year ever.

The company has also embraced BOSS’ culture of continuous improvement, providing the company with ideas for enhancements to the software.

“BOSS is willing to hear input from end users and make changes,” says Johnson. “We got together with them in the offseason to discuss ideas, and by winter the changes were made. They took the time to listen and got it done. Every winter we think of new ideas, and BOSS has our backs.”

The BOSS® Difference

BOSS Software’s in-depth knowledge of business software and the needs of professional landscape and snow removal contractors makes it the number one choice for businesses searching for a complete software solution. Call 866/596-5971 or request a free consultation today.